The United States is expected to experience as much sea level rise by the year 2050 as the country has witnessed in the past century, according to a report led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and released Tuesday.   “Sea levels continue to rise at a very alarming rate, and it’s endangering communities around the world,” Bill Nelson, administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), told reporters during an online briefing. “And that means it’s past time to take action on this climate crisis.”   …

Pollution by states and companies is contributing to more deaths globally than COVID-19, a U.N. environmental report published on Tuesday said, calling for “immediate and ambitious action” to ban some toxic chemicals. The report said pollution from pesticides, plastics and electronic waste is causing widespread human rights violations and at least 9 million premature deaths a year, and that the issue is largely being overlooked. The coronavirus pandemic has caused close to 5.9 million deaths, according to data aggregator Worldometer. “Current approaches to managing the risks posed by pollution and …

A billionaire who led an all-private space crew into orbit last year has announced plans for up to three new missions in conjunction with SpaceX, including one with a spacewalk. Jared Isaacman, who founded payment processing company Shift4, will lead the first of the new flights with a launch potentially coming by the end of this year.  In addition to a mission featuring the first spacewalk attempted by non-professional astronauts, the planned flight also includes achieving a record altitude in Earth orbit. As part of the partnership with SpaceX, the …